A New Semester of Love
by arashi099
Summary: A sequel to A Semester of Deceit and Love. It's the group's 2nd year in college, and an old friend joins them in the new year. Will Tomoyo find love? Complete
1. A Gathering

**A New Semester of Love**

This is a sequel to A Semester of Deceit and Love, which I wrote about a year ago I think.  Sorry it took me so long to write this new fanfic, but college got incredibly busy for me, and I really didn't feel like writing.  Even with the summer, I've taken major breaks from writing.  Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up now that I've gotten back in the writing mood.  

But anyway, I definitely recommend reading A Semester of Deceit and Love first…although it's not necessary to understand this sequel.  I just think it would help in understanding how all the characters are feeling.  

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Card Captor Sakura in any way. All the credit goes to the wonderful anime team Clamp.

I hope you enjoy!****

**Chapter 1: A Gathering**

"So, we only have a week left before we have to go back, right?" Sakura asked, looking over at Tomoyo who was recording her cooking.  Tomoyo had come over about an hour before, and she was going to stay the night that night.  After she had helped Sakura cut up some vegetables and put some rice in the rice cooker, she had happily picked up her video camera to just film as Sakura started removing shells and cleaning the shrimp that would also be going in the fried rice.  

"That's right," Tomoyo answered.  "But we're lucky.  Chiharu-san and Yamazaki-kun have already had to go back to Towa University.  They're classes started yesterday I think."

"Yeah," Sakura agreed and stared at Tomoyo a little more.  "Do you have to film me all the time?"

Tomoyo smiled widely.  "Of course.  I must always catch the lovely Sakura on camera whenever I can."  Sakura sweatdropped.  "So, when is Li-kun coming?  You invited him for dinner tonight, didn't you?"

Sakura nodded.  "He should be here in a little bit."  Sakura turned away from Tomoyo smiling.  _I hope she's happy with the other visitor too.  _She giggled a little.

Tomoyo stared at her.  "Happy about seeing Li-kun or something?" 

Sakura grinned.  "Yup."

Tomoyo just continued to film.  _It's been so nice seeing those two together.  Since the beginning of summer they've been so close…I was so worried about Sakura then, but now it seems there's nothing to worry about.  Not with Li-kun with her.  He's definitely been able to make her happy again…_

Just then Fujitaka stuck his head into the kitchen, smiling at the two girls.  "Well, I'm off now to the university to go finish some things before the weekend and to go pick up something I forgot."

"When will you be back?" Sakura asked, looking at the clock.  It was already nearing 7.

"In a couple hours I think," he told her.  "You two will be fine on your own right?"

The two girls nodded.  "And Syaoran-kun will be here soon too."

"That's good," Fujitaka said smiling.  _That guy really has been good for her.  "I'll see you later then."  He waved bye to them as he left the kitchen.  They were silent for a little while, hearing the front door close behind Sakura's father.  _

Tomoyo slyly looked over at Sakura, smiling a little.  "I bet you wish I wasn't here, don't you?  So you could be all alone with your wonderful Li-kun, right?"

Sakura blushed a little and playfully glared at her best friend.  "Yeah…you're just in the way," she teased, laughing.

Tomoyo pretended to look hurt.  "I see how it is.  You would rather be with your lover than your best friend."  Sakura laughed a little more.  

"That's right," she said, then added, "just kidding, of course.  It's fun when we're all together."  _And I can't wait to see her reaction when she finds out Syaoran isn't the only one coming._

Tomoyo smiled at Sakura.  "That's true." 

The sudden ringing of the doorbell made them both jump a little.  Sakura smiled.  "They're here."

Tomoyo followed her out of the kitchen.  "They?"

Sakura didn't answer as she and Tomoyo made their way to the front door.  

"Well hey there," Sakura said as she opened the door revealing two handsome young men on the other side.  She watched Tomoyo as she saw them both standing there.  Her eyes widened and a tiny pink tint began to become apparent on her cheeks. 

"I didn't know you were coming, Hiiragizawa-kun," Tomoyo said, surprised.

He smiled at her.  "Didn't we agree that you would call me by my first name, Tomoyo-san?"

She blushed, remembering the night at the concert earlier that year.  _That night turned out to be nice…when I was with him…but so horrible with what all happened with Sakura-chan. She shook her head a little, trying to shake away the bad memories of that night and focused on the men standing before her.  _

"Yes that's right, Eriol-kun," she hesitantly agreed.  She quickly turned toward Syaoran.  "It's been a while since I've seen you too."

Syaoran smiled at her, amused by the exchange he had just watched between her and Eriol.  "Yeah, since you were gone a lot of the summer on vacation.  How was it?"

"It was really nice.  But I'm glad to be back," she replied.

 "Where did you go again?" Eriol asked. 

Sakura laughed a little as they stood in the doorway.  "How about we talk inside?"

They agreed and followed her inside.  She led them to the living room where all of them sat except Sakura.  "I should go finish cooking," she said heading toward the kitchen.  "And I'll bring you all something to drink."

"I'll help you," Tomoyo offered.  

Sakura shook her head and motioned for her to stay.  "No, no…I can get it on my own."  

Syaoran stood up and followed her.  "Let me help you at least."  

"No, that's okay," Sakura started.  He stopped her refusals by grabbing her arm gently and pulling her slowly toward the kitchen.  

"You don't have a choice," he said playfully.  She just stared at him and smiled, letting him drag her away. 

Tomoyo and Eriol both watched amused at the couple as they left.  Once they had disappeared into the kitchen, they sat there silently for a moment.  Tomoyo smiled at him a little as he turned toward her.

"So, where did you go again for your vacation?" Eriol asked her.

"We went up to Hokkaido.  We just shopped a lot, and we visited a lot of different cities."

"That sounds like it was pretty fun."

Tomoyo nodded.  "Yeah, it was just basically my mom and I, so it was nice to just spend some time with her."

Eriol smiled at her. "That's good."

"When did you get here?  How long are you going to be visiting?" Tomoyo asked him.  

"I got here yesterday.  I'll tell you about what I'm doing here later," he said, smiling widely.

She looked at him, one of her eyebrows raised playfully.  "I'm sure it'll be interesting."

Syaoran reappeared then with some drinks.  "Here you two go.  I'm going to go back in there and help Sakura-san finish cooking.  It should be done soon she said."

Tomoyo stood up.  "You can stay here, and I'll go help her finish.  I was helping her earlier anyway."

Syaoran smiled.  "I'm sure that's true.  But I saw your camera in there too…so I wonder how much you were helping?"

Tomoyo laughed.  "Okay, okay, you know the truth.  But I could still go back in there and make up for what little I did earlier."

"That's okay though," Syaoran told her, adding a little quietly, "I want to help her."

Tomoyo smiled at him as he turned and left to go back in the kitchen.  _How cute…_

***

Syaoran walked up behind Sakura who was standing by the stove watching over the fried rice.  He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her.  She blushed a little nervously and just stood there.  

"I gave them the drinks like you asked," he whispered into her ear, kissing it gently, making her blush.  A dark red was also spreading over his own face.

"Thank you," she mumbled.  He smiled and released his hold on her, taking the spatula from her hand and stirring the fried rice.  "I think it'll be done in a few minutes," she said.

"That's good.  I'm hungry."  Sakura smiled at him.

"So, Tomoyo-chan seemed happy to see Eriol-kun, don't you think?" she asked.  He smiled some more at her.  

"Yeah, I definitely agree," he said.  "And on the way over here, Eriol seemed a little nervous.  I've never really seen him kind of flustered when he's speaking.  He was asking me how everyone had been, but he really did show more interest when I talked about Tomoyo."

Sakura's smile grew.  "They really would be perfect together, I think."

"We'll just have to push them together if we can.  They might not even need our help though."

"But Eriol-kun will be leaving to go back to England again soon, won't he?  We don't really have much time."

Syaoran grinned.  "Don't worry about that."

Sakura just looked at him confused.  "Why?"

"You'll see."

She just kept staring at him.  _I wonder…_

***

**End of Chapter 1**

***

Sorry if the chapter's kind of slow.  I think it does pick up as it goes along.  I hope you liked it and please review! I'd greatly appreciate it.  Thank you!


	2. A Transfer Student

**A New Semester of Love**

**Chapter 2:  A Transfer Student**

"Well, that was an incredibly good dinner, Sakura-san," Eriol commented as he put down his fork.  They had all just finished some nice cake that Sakura had prepared earlier that day before Tomoyo had arrived.  

"Thank you.  Tomoyo-chan did help with the meal too," Sakura told him, smiling. 

"Oh? Well, thank you too then, Tomoyo-san.  It was very nice," Eriol said smiling at her. 

She blushed a little.  "But I really didn't do much.  I was just watching Sakura-chan most of the time."

"Yeah…filming her like always," Syaoran added teasingly.  They all laughed.  

"So, how did last semester end up for all of you?" Eriol asked, looking slightly over at Sakura concerned.  "I didn't really hear from you since the last time I visited, although I do know now that my little descendent here and Sakura-san are finally together."

Syaoran glared at him a little upon hearing himself called 'a little descendent' but shrugged the comment away.  "Since the end of the semester things have been better."

"Grades ended up being okay though for all of us, I think," Tomoyo added.  "Maybe a little lower than normal, but not bad.  I think we were all just worried about Sakura-chan more than anything.  And she got really sick because she wasn't really taking good care of herself.  But now everything seems fine again."

They were all now looking toward Sakura who smiled at them a little weakly and turned her face away, a little embarrassed at the attention and the words being spoken about her.  _I hate remembering that time…_

"How about you, Eriol-kun?" Sakura asked, trying to take the attention away from herself.  "How did last semester go for you?"  

He smiled at her.  "It went pretty okay. But," he began, smiling even more and glancing around at all of them, "I decided that university wasn't the place for me.  I felt too distanced there from all of you.  I really felt that when I visited last time…I wished then that I could have been closer and that I could have stayed for much longer instead of worrying about having to get back to classes in England.  So I realized then that, although England is where I grew up, it's not the place for me.  I'd rather be here where I have more connections."

Sakura and Tomoyo stared at him, just waiting for him to continue.  Syaoran was smiling, having already heard all this before.

"Having realized all this, I applied as a transfer student to Tokyo University and was accepted.  So, I'll be coming to school with you now for our second year."

"Really?  Are you serious?" Tomoyo asked, her eyes taking on a hopeful glint.

"Of course," Eriol replied, his smile growing even wider. 

"That's wonderful!" she exclaimed.

"I agree," Sakura said happily.  "I really hope you like it here too.  The university is pretty nice."

"I'm sure I will like it better here," Eriol told them. "I'll be staying with Li the rest of the summer until we move into the dorms."

Sakura looked at Syaoran, trying to see how he felt about Eriol staying with him.  They had never really gotten a long well.  He was looking right back at her, smiling a little.   "It'll be okay," he mouthed.  She smiled back at him and then looked back toward Tomoyo who was still smiling excitedly.  Sakura smiled even more.  _This is definitely going to be a good thing for those two…_

***

"Well, I guess we better be going," Syaoran said, looking at the clock.  It was already nearing eleven.  Fujitaka had already returned and left the group alone, going up to his own room to read a little. 

"Yeah, it is getting a little late," Eriol agreed, stretching in his position beside Tomoyo on the couch.  They had just finished watching an old movie and were now just lounging around in Sakura's living room.  Sakura and Syaoran were sitting together on the floor in front of the TV.  

Syaoran quickly leaned over and kissed Sakura on the cheek as he stood.  "We'll see you soon."  Eriol also stood up and began to follow Syaoran as he made his way to the front door.  Tomoyo and Sakura started to stand as well.  "It's okay.  You girls don't have to get up.  We can make it out on our own."

"Goodnight, Tomoyo-san, Sakura-san," Eriol called back to them as he left the room.  The two girls smiled at each other silently as they listened to the two guys put on their shoes and leave the house, gently closing the front door behind them.  

"Where has Kero-chan been all this time," Tomoyo asked suddenly, looking around, expecting for some reason for the little yellow guardian to come flying out from nowhere.

"Upstairs playing a video game, I think.  I was surprised that he didn't come down when we started to eat the cake, but maybe he fell asleep or something.  We can go check up on him, I suppose," she said, standing up and putting the pillows she and Syaoran had been using back to their place on the couch.  

"You can go take a bath if you like," Sakura told Tomoyo.  "I still have to clean up things in the kitchen a little."

"I can take one in the morning," Tomoyo said.  "Let me help you clean up."

"You don't have to though."

"I know, but I want to." Sakura smiled at her as she led the way back in to the kitchen. 

With Tomoyo washing the dishes and Sakura drying and putting them away, they quickly finished cleaning up and made their way up the stairs to Sakura's room.  

They walked in to find Kero lying asleep on the floor, a game controller by his tiny head, and the words GAME OVER flashing on the screen.  

Sakura and Tomoyo smiled at the little creature and at each other, trying not to giggle at the cute scene before them.  "What a powerful guardian of the cards, ne?" Sakura whispered, causing Tomoyo to laugh.  She quickly covered her mouth trying to soften the sound.  Sakura grinned.

"I'll be right back.  I need to go get a futon from the closet," Sakura said quietly leaving the room and quietly returning less than a minute later. She easily lied the futon on the floor beside her bed and covered it with a soft blanket, putting a pillow down at the head of the whole set.  Meanwhile, Tomoyo had changed into her pajamas and had been sitting by Kero turning off the game.

"Would you rather sleep on the bed or the futon?" Sakura asked as she changed into her pajamas.

"I'll be fine on the futon," Tomoyo answered.

"You sure? The bed is more comfortable."

"It's fine.  I like sleeping on the floor every once in a while," Tomoyo told her.  Sakura smiled, nodding her head in agreement.  She walked over to her desk, pulling open the small drawer that was Kero's room and took a small blanket from inside, covering her yellow friend gently with it.

"Goodnight Kero-chan," she whispered, before climbing into her own bed.  Tomoyo had already snuggled under the blanket on the futon after turning off the lights in the room.

"So, it was nice to see Eriol-kun again, wasn't it?" Sakura asked.

Tomoyo smiled.  "Yes, it definitely was," she replied, starting to blush, happy that the darkness of the room helped to hide the growing redness on her cheeks.  "I'm glad he's transferring here too."

"Yeah me too," Sakura agreed.  "I do hope that he and Syaoran-kun will be okay living together for the next week.  Wei-san isn't there anymore I don't think.  So they'll be alone."

Tomoyo giggled a little.  "That is interesting, isn't it?  Li-kun really seemed to hate him a long time ago when you were changing the cards into star cards.  I'm sure he thought Eriol-kun was competition for him."

Sakura smiled, blushing a little, remembering the times that she had seen Syaoran give Eriol incredibly mean looks and how she hadn't understood then.  _But everything makes sense now._

"But things definitely seem to be calmer between them now.  Maybe because Eriol-kun has been gone for so long and because Li-kun shouldn't have to fight for you anymore," Tomoyo continued.

Sakura's smile grew.  _It had been so wonderful when Syaoran told me he loved me.  Even if everything else surrounding that time had been horrible, he made it all so much better.  He made me so happy then…he still does…_

"You know," Sakura began, grinning a little slyly, "Eriol-kun seemed to be smiling at you a lot tonight."

Tomoyo looked toward Sakura sharply, then looked away, blushing even more than she had been before.  "He was smiling at everyone, not just me.  I'm sure he was glad to see all of us, so of course he was smiling."

"Yes that's true, but he seemed to be happiest when he was talking with you," Sakura said.  "He was definitely smiling the most then."

Tomoyo blushed even more, taking the blanket and covering her face with it.  "I think you were imagining things."  _He was smiling a lot at me, but that wasn't anything special.  He's always so nice to everyone.  He was probably just paying more attention to me because Sakura-chan and Li-kun have each other.  But it was nice to see him smile…_

Sakura laughed a little.  "Sure I wasn't."

Tomoyo groaned playfully.  "I think your eyes were messing with you.  I think they've been influenced by your brain that's full of mushy thoughts about Li-kun, so you automatically think there's something different in how Eriol-kun treats me."

Sakura laughed a little more.  "Hey!  That's not true.  Maybe I am thinking about Syaoran-kun a lot, but that doesn't make it impossible for me to see how things are going between you and Eriol-kun."

"Sure, sure," Tomoyo said.  "Your love for Li-kun is just making you blind about everything."

"It is not!" Sakura said back, taking the pillow from under her head and softly hitting Tomoyo with it. 

"Well now you've done it," Tomoyo muttered, taking her own pillow and smacking Sakura back, laughing the whole time.  There innocent pillow fight grew into a much larger one quickly.  They began throwing stuffed animals at each other and blankets on top of each other as well as continuing to hit each other with their pillows.  They were laughing crazily the whole time.  

"Do you two mind?" a sleepy voice broke in, stopping them both in their childlike play.  

They looked over to see an awakened Kero staring at them with eyes still half closed and mouth yawning.

The two girls quickly both got sheepish looks on their faces and looked at each other and then back at Kero, who was still staring at them, but was now rubbing his eyes.  They giggled a little.

"I'm sorry Kero-chan," Sakura apologized. 

"Me too," Tomoyo added in.

"Yeah, yeah," Kero mumbled, lying back down on his stomach.  The two girls followed his lead and remade their beds enough to sleep on and lied down.  

"Goodnight Kero-chan.  Goodnight Tomoyo-chan," Sakura called out quietly.

"Goodnight Sakura-chan, Kero-chan," Tomoyo called back, snuggling deeper under her blanket, looking out through the half open curtains into the clear night.  She could see a few stars randomly scattered in the sky.  She couldn't see the moon.  _The moon always reminds me of Eriol…I wish I could see the moon tonight… Her thoughts of the moon faded slowly away as she closed her eyes and fell asleep._

***

**End of Chapter 2**

***

Thank you to those of you are reading, and a special thank you to those who have reviewed!!  ^_^  I hope you keep reading!


	3. A New Beginning

**A New Semester of Love**

Thank you for the reviews!

**Chapter 3: A New Beginning**

"It seems like a long time since we've been here, hasn't it?" Tomoyo asked as the group looked around at the university around them.  Tomoyo and her mother Sonomi, as well as Sakura, Touya, Fujitaka, Syaoran, and Eriol were all standing before a small but pretty dorm, a better one than the one they had been in last year.

"It's still a coed dorm, right?" Touya asked, looking unhappily at the two younger men standing beside him.

"Yeah, but it'll be fine," Sakura replied, starting to make her way up the steps to the main door of the building.

As they group began walking, Touya reached out and grabbed Syaoran's arm, pulling him behind the main group.  "You will watch over Sakura this year, right?  If anything happens to her again this year, you're going to have to deal with me."

Syaoran looked at Sakura's brother staring down at him so seriously.  "Of course I'll make sure nothing happens to her.  I won't let anybody hurt her again."

Touya just stared at him for a moment longer and then finally let go of his arm.  He walked on, leaving Syaoran to stand there alone a moment longer and then he caught up with the rest of the group already in the main lobby of the dorm.

They all quickly signed in, got their keys and made there way up to their rooms, getting all their stuff moved in only a few trips each.  And after a few hugs and after making sure they would all be fine, Sonomi, Fujitaka, and Touya left, leaving the students on their own again for the second year. Tomoyo and Sakura were rooming together like before.  Syaoran and Eriol were both one floor above them; there rooms only a few doors down from each other.  

"It's going to take forever to unpack everything again," Tomoyo said looking around at all the boxes and bags that were cluttering their room.  

"Yeah, but for some reason, I really like packing and unpacking," Sakura commented.  "It's fun because you get to go through all your stuff again and organize everything."

"That is true," Tomoyo agreed, starting to open the boxes containing her stuff.  On top of the very first one was a special bag that she had made herself.  She smiled as she looked at it and peaked in to see one of her most treasured possessions, a tiny eraser that Sakura had given her so very, very long ago near the time they had become close friends.  _We've been through a lot since then…she's been through so much more…and she's still so nice, and her heart is so beautiful…I'm so lucky to have her as a friend…_ She turned to smile at her best friend who was happily unpacking her things.  She turned back to the boxes at her feet and began to unpack some more.  _It'll be fun to room with her again…_

***

Tomoyo sighed happily as she quickly made her way to her first class a few days later.  It was taking all her concentration to make her way through the many puddles covering the wet ground and to hold her umbrella up over her despite the strong rain and wind trying their best to knock the umbrella out of her grasp.  _Why does it have to rain on the first day of classes anyway? _

She looked around her at the other students also struggling to get to class.  It was quite early in the morning so there weren't as many students around as there would be in an hour.  _It's nice to be back…despite the rain…_

She jumped as suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder.  Turning, her eyes widened as she saw Eriol trying his best to keep himself under her umbrella. 

"Good morning, Tomoyo-san," he said, smiling at her.  "Nice day, isn't it?"

She smiled back at him.  "Good morning to you too, Eriol-kun.  Forget your umbrella?"

"That's right.  It completely slipped my mind when I was packing to come here.  You don't mind if I share yours though, do you?"

"Of course not," she replied.  "Where are you heading?"

"To the history building."

"That's good.  It's right next to where I'm going," Tomoyo said.

"What's your first class?" he asker her.

"Film Lecture.  Yours?"

"World Civ."

"Ah…I took that last year.  What professor do you have?"

"I'm not sure, let me check," he said, starting to dig through his bag as they walked, trying to keep it out of the reach of the still falling rain.  He quickly found his schedule.  "Shimoji," he read.

"That's who I had last year," Tomoyo told him.  "He was a really nice professor.  You should like him.  He was pretty easy too as long as you go to class.  His tests were pretty much based on his lectures."

"That's good," he said, putting his schedule away and looking up at the history building that they were now walking in front of.  "I'll see you later," he said, starting to walk away.  "Have a good day!" he called, waving back at her before he hurriedly walked into the building and out of the rain.  

Tomoyo smiled.  She looked up at the rain and continued walking to her own class. _I think it will be a good day._

***

"So, you're the first one here?" Sakura asked, walking up to the table Syaoran was sitting at alone in the dining center.  They had all agreed to meet together there that night.

"Yanagisawa-san (Naoko) and Sasaki-san (Rika) are getting food.  They left their bags here," he said, motioning to the two bags sitting in two chairs across from him.

Sakura placed her tray of food down on the table next to his and sat down beside him.  "How was your first day of classes?"

"It went okay I guess.  My professors seem easy enough," he replied. "How about your day?  Was it good?"

Sakura nodded.  "My classes seem interesting so far.  I'm just glad I don't have to have any kind of math this year."

Syaoran smiled at her, remembering all the times he had seen her struggling with her math homework.  _I always liked helping her with it though…  _"That is good for you, isn't it?  I still have a little more math to take before I'm done with it though."

"Poor Syaoran…but you like math, so it's okay, right?" she asked.

"Yeah it is," he said, taking one of her hands into his and squeezing it gently.  A sudden noise behind him made him quickly drop her hand.  They both looked behind them to see Tomoyo hiding behind a corner of the wall filming them, smiling widely at them as they caught her watching them. 

"Well hello there," she said, still smiling and still filming.  They sweatdropped.  

"Will you please turn that off?" Syaoran asked, sighing.  Tomoyo just shook her head and kept her position.  

A quiet laugh, however, did catch her attention.  She swung the camera to face the direction the laugh had come from.  She smiled wider as she saw Eriol in the view of the camera.    
  


"Still can't put that camera down, Tomoyo-san?" he asked.

She blushed a little and finally turned the camera off, coming over to the table and sitting down beside Sakura.  "Of course not.  I never will."

He smiled too, and sat down in the last empty chair beside her.  "You wouldn't be the same if you ever did.  And I like you as you are now, so I guess I'm happy you'll be using that camera forever."

She blushed even more and looked down at the empty spot on the table in front of her.  "I'll be right back.  I guess I need to go get some food."

"Me too.  I'll come with you," he said, following Tomoyo as she stood and began walking away.  Tomoyo just blushed a little more, keeping her face forward and out of his line of vision.  

Sakura and Syaoran smiled at the two as they left, then turned and smiled at each other as they disappeared from sight.  Sakura let out a tiny giggle.  "I really don't think they need our help."

"I agree," Syaoran said, leaning over and quickly kissing her cheek.  Sakura blushed and looked away off in the direction Tomoyo and Eriol had just disappeared. _ She smiled.  _I really hope they realize soon how much they like each other.  They'll be so happy together…__

***

**End of Chapter 3**

*******

Please review! Thank you!


	4. A Desire

**A New Semester of Love**

I really appreciate everyone who has reviewed.  I hope you enjoy this next chapter…it's kind of lacking in action, but it should still be a little interesting hehe.  ^_^

Thank you for reading!

**Chapter 4: A Desire**

Eriol and Tomoyo returned about 10 minutes later, still together, to a table now occupied by not only Sakura and Syaoran, but Rika and Naoko as well.  Rika and Naoko looked happily at them both; neither had seen Tomoyo during the summer since she had been on vacation and neither had seen Eriol since he had visited last semester.

"It's been so long since we've seen you both," Rika exclaimed, smiling at Tomoyo and Eriol as they put down their trays and sat down.  "I'm so glad that you decided to transfer here, Hiiragizawa-kun."

Eriol smiled at her.  "I am too.  And how have you both been?" he asked, looking from Rika to Naoko and back.

"We've been doing quite well," Naoko replied.  "I'm already loving the classes I have this semester."

"Yeah me too," Rika added.  "I'm glad to be back."

"How has everyone's first day been?" Eriol asked glancing around the table, his gaze lingering on Tomoyo whose cheeks became slightly pink under his eye.

"Mine's been pretty good," Tomoyo replied quickly, looking away from Eriol.

Sakura smiled as she watched Tomoyo.  "My day hasn't been too bad either," she answered.  Syaoran nodded his head in agreement while Naoko and Rika began to talk excitedly about some of the classes they were taking.

The group talked excitedly for the next hour, even after every one had finished eating, they just continued to chat, talking about not only the new semester, but also the summer.

While Tomoyo had been gone on vacation most of the summer, Eriol had been busy with the paperwork concerning his transfer, Syaoran and Sakura had just enjoyed the summer resting and growing closer to one another, and both Naoko and Rika had found part-time jobs that they had enjoyed; Naoko working at the library and Rika working as an assistant at a summer school alongside Terada-sensei.  Rika blushed as she told the others about her job.  The rest of the girls smiled, the guys totally clueless about any connection between Rika and their old teacher.

They finally all decided to head back to their dorms when they noticed the dining center had almost completely emptied and the workers had begun to start cleaning.  Rika and Naoko waved and called out a cheerful goodnight as they made their way in the direction of an all-girls' dorm in the opposite direction of the rest of the group's dorm.  Sakura and Syaoran led the way back with Tomoyo and Eriol following close behind.

Tomoyo quickly brought out her camera once more as she noticed Syaoran had again taken hold of Sakura's hand, squeezing it gently.  Eriol smiled at her as he watched her happily filming her best friend who, he noticed, was much happier than he had last seen her the time he had visited before.  _I'm glad things are all better now. It had been so suprising what happened…so absolutely horrible.  _

He continued to watch the girl walking beside him, his eyes shining almost imperceptibly at the dark haired beauty walking with camera seemingly glued to her eye.  _It's nice seeing Tomoyo so happy as well...she looks so pretty now…_

He blushed at his own thoughts and looked away from the young girl.  His gaze now fixed on the couple ahead of him, he smiled amused as he watched Syaoran gently lift Sakura's hands to his lips.  He looked down at the ground in front of him, his smile weakening.  

Bringing his own hands out in front of him, he looked at them, holding back a sigh as he remembered all his life watching couples forming around him, smiling so happily, so filled with joy.  He had always wanted that kind of happiness, but had never known it.  For a time, his thoughts had been full of a teacher they had all come to love, Kaho Mizuki, but his admiration for her talents and her beauty hadn't been what he or she had wanted, and so his hands had remained empty of another's warmth.  

He was, he knew, jealous of his descendant, who had been able to overcome his own pride and realize his own feelings for those around him, especially his love for his beautiful card mistress.  But he was happy for both of them; both had successfully worked in capturing and changing the cards and making everyone around them love them very much.  He knew they belonged together.  But there was still a kind of pain for him as he watched Syaoran kiss Sakura's hand, as they looked at each other, their eyes so full of their love for each other that it was impossible for anyone who could see them together to not realize it.  _I just really want one day to be able to have someone like Sakura and Syaoran have each other…I want to be able to hold the hand of the one I love… _

He looked at Tomoyo again, her camera still focused on the couple ahead.  _She's so beautiful…_

***

Tomoyo watched as Sakura and Syaoran separated from them as they returned to the dorm.  Instead of going in, they had decided they would go swing a little at a tiny park close to the dorm.  The rain had seemed to be taking a break, so they thought they would take advantage of the situation and go off a little on their own.  Eriol had said a quick goodnight to them all and had gone into the dorm, so now Tomoyo was left alone in front of the dorm, not yet wanting to go inside.  

She looked up at the dark night sky.  It was only a little after 8, but it had grown quite dark already, and the clouds made the night look even darker, completely blocking her view of the stars and the moon she so much wanted to see.  Sighing, she started walking away from the dorm in the direction of the park, not really wanting to bother the couple she knew wanted to be alone, but still wanting to watch them, to see them together.  Watching them always made her happy, she had always wanted to see Sakura happy more than anything, and now that she was, she wanted to watch her with the man that made her so happy.

She walked silently, coming within sight of the park in only a couple minutes.  Upon reaching the edges of the tiny park, she hid behind a tree, just watching the cute couple swinging slowly in the swing set, their hands still clasped together, shy smiles on both of their faces.  Tomoyo sighed.  _It's so wonderful to see them so happy…but it's kind of sad too…knowing that I don't have someone like that…that I don't even know how it feels to be with someone you love like that…even the feeling of loving someone is something I don't  know…_

Memories of the past rushed into her mind as she watched them, of the time she first became friends with Sakura, of the eraser that Sakura gave her that she still kept, of the times that she had seen Sakura in danger when capturing the Clow Cards and then changing them into Sakura Cards…and not being able to help.  She remembered always how Syaoran had been there…at first in a hostile competition with Sakura, but later just watching over her, protecting her…something that she could never do for her best friend.  She knew she had been jealous of Syaoran, may still be jealous of him, for being able to be someone Sakura depended on so much…that Sakura loved, but yet she was happy for him because Sakura loved him so much.  She would always accept anything Sakura loved no matter what.

Her own feelings for Sakura she hadn't ever really understood till she saw her love for Syaoran.  She had thought that she loved Sakura more than anyone else, that she loved her as a friend, that she loved her as even more than a friend.  But when she saw the kind of love that existed between Sakura and Syaoran, she realized that her love for Sakura wasn't exactly what she thought…it wasn't the same as the love they had for each other.  And she came to realize that she loved Sakura as if she were her sister…she wanted to see her happy, she wanted Sakura to be able to depend on her…and she was even jealous of Sakura's happiness although she knew that she wanted Sakura to be happy.  

Tomoyo looked away from the happy couple after seeing Syaoran lean over and softly kiss Sakura, and she leaned heavily against the tree she remained unseen behind.  _I just really wish I could find that someone for me…_

***

**End of Chapter 4**


	5. An Outing

**A New Semester of Love**

Up to this point in this fic, this chapter has the most direct references to the story's prequel, A Semester of Deceit and Love.  If you get confused at all about anything…it might be a good idea to go back and read the first story.  It's probably not necessary though.  

Enjoy!

**Chapter 5: An Outing**

The rest of the week passed in much the same way.  Classes were still just getting started so the amount of work they had to do for each class was still quite minimal.  They always met for dinner when everyone was free, happily eating and talking together for at least an hour every night.  The rain had continued to fall throughout the week, little breaks in the clouds only appearing every now and then to give them short respites from the rain.  With the arrival of the weekend, however, the clouds completely vanished.  

Sakura and Tomoyo woke late in the morning on the Saturday after the first week of classes to a gentle knock on the door.

Tomoyo, whose bed was closest to the door, slowly got out of bed and made her way to the door, her eyes still not fully open.  

"Good morning there," Eriol greeted her.  Tomoyo blushed immediately, her eyes widening as she looked at the young man fully dressed and looking as if he had just gotten out of the shower, his hair still slightly wet.  

Eriol grinned as he looked at the sleepy Tomoyo.  He reached out and smoothed down a loose strand of hair that had been sticking out, causing the girl to blush even more.  His own face obtained a red tint as well as he realized what he had, unthinkingly, just done.  

She just continued to stand there, finally noticing a lazy looking Syaoran leaning against the wall opposite her door.  Eriol cleared his throat and looked past her into the room to see Sakura sitting up staring sleepily at him from her bed.  "And good morning to you too, Sakura-san."  Sakura yawned and mumbled a good morning back.  Eriol smiled.

"We were wondering if you want to go out into the city with us, to go shopping or whatever…maybe get some lunch," Eriol told them.  They were both now seemingly much more awake.

The two girls looked at each other and nodded approval.  "Just give us a little bit and we'll be ready," Tomoyo told him.

"We'll come and get you.  It shouldn't take us that long," Sakura added, yawning once more.

"Sounds good," Eriol said, backing away from the doorway.  "We'll be up in my room, okay?"  Tomoyo and Sakura nodded.

***

In only about 15 minutes, both girls had finished getting dressed and had made their way up to Eriol's room on the floor above them.  Tomoyo suggested they should invite Rika and Naoko, but Eriol told her that they had already tried, but they hadn't answered the phone when he tried calling their room.  "They must be out somewhere already," Eriol suggested. 

They made their way out of the dorm and to a bus stop not too far away where they had to wait only a few minutes for a city bus to come by and pick them up, taking them into the city.  The group remained basically silent during the bus ride, only deciding that they would just shop in and around the Ginza district, and got off the bus not too long after.  The city was crowded already, and Syaoran protectively took hold of Sakura's hand keeping her close by him as they walked along the streets looking at the stores all around them.  

Tomoyo walked on the other side of Sakura with Eriol beside her as they walked, the girls stopping to stare every once in a while at window displays featuring new fall designs that Tomoyo was specifically interested in, comparing her own designs with those in the stores.  

"That's so pretty!" Sakura exclaimed, seeing a simple sleeveless fall dress in a display.  

Tomoyo glanced at it and immediately pulled Sakura away from the expensive dress.   "I can make you something like that much cheaper and much better you know."  Sakura smiled at her friend and sweatdropped, thinking about all the times Tomoyo had made costumes and clothes for her in the past, and easily let Tomoyo pull her away from the display.

Syaoran and Eriol watched the two girls in amusement as they continued to window shop, which they did until they came upon a small but cute café situated on a corner where two streets met, French in name, with peaceful guitar music floating out the door every time it opened and healthy plants decorating the area in front where small tables were set for anyone who wanted to eat outside instead of inside the café.  

They decided they would stop there to get a little snack and a drink, having already walked around window shopping for over an hour.

They found an open table outside and waited as a waiter made their way over to them after a few minutes and ordered some small sandwiches and some refreshing juice.  The other tables around them were crowded, and they could see that inside, the café was also full.  Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Eriol glanced around at first just looking at their surroundings in the, what could be called, quaint settings in the middle of Tokyo.  

The waiter returned with their drinks as they continued to look around them, promising to be out again in about ten minutes with their food.

"I wonder why we never found this place last year," Tomoyo commented admiring the café.  "I wonder if it's a new place."

"It definitely seems popular," Eriol said, almost unnecessarily as it was quite apparent that the place was full.

Sitting in the table next to them were two young men, looking to be about the same age as Sakura and the others.  Syaoran had noticed them looking at them as they sat down, and now watched the two as they continued to glance in their direction, specifically eyeing Sakura and Tomoyo.  Eriol followed his gaze when the two girls turned to each other to comment more on the items they had both liked while they had been shopping.  His gaze hardened as he noticed the looks they were giving the two girls sitting with him, as did Syaoran, but the two men seemed oblivious to their glares.

The waiter returned once more, this time with their food, pulling the group's attention to the small assortment of sandwiches in front of them. 

"These are really good," Sakura mentioned as they ate, it being her and Tomoyo's first meal of the day.  Eriol and Syaoran had both gotten up early and eaten breakfast that morning while the girls had been sleeping. 

"Hey there pretty ladies."

The sudden voice directed in their direction caused Tomoyo and Sakura to look first at each other than behind them at the two men who had been looking at them since they had sat down.  Syaoran and Eriol resumed their glares at them.

"How about you two ditch those guys and come talk with us," one of them said.

 The other smiled.  "I'm sure you'll have a lot more fun with us than you will with them."

Sakura stared at them a moment longer and then looked down.  Tomoyo just kept looking at them, one eyebrow raised, amused at how pitiful they were.

"We go to school at Waseda and came into town today looking for hot girls like you.  There's a party tonight that one of our friends is holding.  I'm sure you'd enjoy it," one explained, grinning smoothly at them. 

Sakura looked away.  Tomoyo, noticing her discomfort, remembered everything that had happened last semester and realized Sakura might be thinking of the same thing.  She looked away from the two guys as well, hoping that by ignoring them, they would give up.

Syaoran had also noticed Sakura's sudden gloominess as well.  She was now just staring at her sandwich in front of her.  

"Come on," the two men continued.  "We're a lot better looking than those guys you're with now."

"Back off," Syaoran muttered angrily, his glare suddenly becoming noticed by the two. He took Sakura's hand and held it firmly in his, surprise filling his eyes as he realized how cold they had suddenly become.  Eriol had moved his chair closer to Tomoyo's and had sent meaningful glances at the two men that Tomoyo did not fail to miss.  And she definitely could not miss the possessive arm that circled around her chair. She looked up surprised at him, as he showed protectiveness over her that she didn't expect.

The two guys sitting next to them just looked at them all a little more and then, mumbling "Whatever," looked away.

Sakura kept her gaze focused in front of her, staring but not really seeing anything before her.  Her thoughts had taken her back to the previous semester when another overly aggressive man had tricked her and tried to get more from her than she ever thought he would.  _Why did they make me think of him?_

Syaoran just continued to hold her hand as she sat there. 

Tomoyo, finally pulling her gaze from a now blushing Eriol, looked worriedly at Sakura.  "Are you okay, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked up at her and smiled.  "Of course I'm okay."  Tomoyo just continued to look at her for a moment and sighed.  

The group didn't stay much longer.  Their spirits not so high as they had been previously, they paid for their meal and left the café, half-heartedly shopped for another half hour then decided they might as well make their way back to the dorm.  

Syaoran and Eriol walked back to Sakura and Tomoyo's room where they decided to put in a movie and just relax.  Syaoran sat with Sakura leaning on him on her bed while Tomoyo sat on her own bed with Eriol in a chair beside her.  He looked at her, remembered the questioning glance she had given him at the café when he had gotten closer to her and put his arm around her chair…around her.  He blushed again and looked away.  Tomoyo watched him blush.  

Not one of them paid much attention to the movie they had put in.  Tomoyo continued to glance every so often at Eriol, and if not at him, then at the couple on the other side of the room, now snuggling comfortably.  Eriol just kept thinking about what had happened earlier at the café and looked at Tomoyo every time he thought she wasn't looking his way.  And Sakura just remained in Syaoran's arms, eventually falling asleep, her thoughts finally moving away from the horrible memories that had been brought back to her only a few hours before.  Syaoran kissed her on her head as she fell asleep.

***

End of Chapter 5

***

Please review! I'd greatly appreciate it.  ^_^  Thank you for reading!


	6. A Change in Plans

**A New Semester of Love**

**Chapter 6: A Change in Plans **

The next couple months passed quickly.  They all got into the routine of classes and as exams approached, became busier with more papers and studying for their finals.  The summer had passed quickly enough as did the rainy season, and now in late November, the temperature was much cooler, and everyone was eager for the upcoming break.

On the last weekend of November, Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, Eriol, Rika, and Naoko planned on going down to Tomoeda to hear a special lecture to be given by Sakura's father at Tomoeda University.  They were going to meet Chiharu and Yamazaki who would be attending the lecture as well. 

Sakura and Tomoyo were packing the Friday before for the short trip home when the phone rang.  

Tomoyo answered the phone as Sakura continued to pack, oblivious to the conversation.  She hummed as she put a couple days worth of clothes into her bag.  _It'll be nice to go home for the weekend and hear my father's lecture.  And it's definitely a nice break from all the crazy studying for finals._

She looked up as Tomoyo hung up the phone.  Tomoyo wasn't looking pleased.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"That was Rika-san.  She called to tell us that she heard your father's lecture was cancelled."

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.  "Why?"

"She didn't know."

"I'll call home then and ask," Sakura said, reaching for the phone.  

Tomoyo handed it to her.  "I'll go up and tell the guys what Rika-san said."  Sakura nodded at her as she left.

Sakura waited as the phone rang…ringing five times before finally a male voice greeted her with a quiet hello.

"Hi, Otousan?"

"Sakura-san.  It's nice to hear from you," her father said.

"I heard that your lecture tomorrow was cancelled.  Is it true?" Sakura asked him.

She heard a soft sigh over the phone.  "Yes, that's right.  I'll be giving it at the beginning of next semester instead."

"Why?" Sakura questioned.

"I've been running a slight fever all this week and it's gotten a little worse, but still not serious, but my colleagues have decided that the lecture should be postponed."

Sakura's eyes widened as she listened.  "Are you okay?" she asked, worriedly.

"Of course," her father replied.  "It's not anything too bad.  It'll be gone in a few days."

"You can't be there by yourself though.  You need to rest," Sakura told him.  "I'll come home."

"No, no, it's okay, Sakura-san.  I'll be fine."

"I'll take a train home as soon as I can.  I should be there sometime tonight," Sakura said, ignoring his reassurances.  Fujitaka just smiled, not surprised by his daughter's concern.  

"I'll be there soon," Sakura said, hanging up the phone.  She quickly resumed her packing, hurriedly throwing in some few last necessities that she would need to stay home for the weekend.  Tomoyo came in as she was finishing, followed by Eriol and Syaoran.  

"I told the others," Tomoyo told her, watching as Sakura zipped up her bag and looked up at her.  "Is it really cancelled?"

Sakura nodded.  "I'm still going home though.  He's sick."

"Your father?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yeah, he has a fever," Sakura answered.  "I'm going to make sure he's okay."

"I'll go with you," Syaoran said.  "You shouldn't go back alone."

Sakura just looked up at him for a moment, not really wanting to argue.  _It will be nice to have him with me._

"I already have my stuff packed since I thought we were going anyway for the lecture."

"I can go back with you too," Tomoyo offered.

Sakura smiled at her.  "It's okay.  All I'm going to be doing is staying at home with my father…I'll be back Sunday afternoon if everything is okay.  And Kero-chan can stay here with you," she added, noticing that Kero was, at the moment, taking a nap in the middle of her bed.

Tomoyo smiled back at her and then looked down, her countenance falling.  _I guess I really can't do much to help…_

Eriol worriedly noticed Tomoyo's change of expression and kept watching her as she watched as Sakura picked up her bag, gave Sakura a goodbye hug, waved as Sakura and Syaoran both said a goodbye to them both and headed off to Syaoran's room to get his own bag then to the train station, leaving Eriol alone in the room with Tomoyo.

She sighed, almost silently, as the two disappeared from her view.  Eriol didn't think she had noticed he heard her.  _She doesn't seem to be as happy as I thought she was…_

He noticed she was looking at him now, smiling.  _I wonder if that smile isn't as real as I thought too… He smiled kindly back at her.  _

Tomoyo noticed a new look in his eyes as he looked at her…he seemed to be looking at her more closely than he had before.  _I wonder why he's looking at me like that…his eyes…they make it seem that he's confused about something…or concerned about something…but why is he looking with those eyes at me?_

She looked away…looked at her own half-packed bag.  "I guess we'll be staying here this weekend then," she said.

"Yes, it seems that way," Eriol agreed.  They were silent for a moment.  They turned to face each other at the same time, both looking away immediately as they did, blushing.  

Eriol was the first to speak.  "So…maybe we should think of something to do tonight?  It'll be kind of boring just to sit here all weekend."

"Yeah, you're right.  What do you want to do?" Tomoyo asked him, finally looking at him, a bright shade of pink now fading from her cheeks.  

Eriol looked out the window.  The sun was already quite high.  Only a few high fluffy white clouds were scattered across the otherwise clear blue sky.  Tomoyo's gaze followed his own.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Tomoyo asked.

Eriol nodded his head in agreement.  "We should go out and enjoy it," he said.  She just looked at him as he continued to stare out the window.  "How about we go find us some lunch nearby, then take a train out of the city and watch the sunset somewhere?  I'm sure we could find some nice place…we could stay out and watch the stars even if we wanted."

Tomoyo smiled at Eriol's plans.  _He's kind of romantic… _

He finally looked at her, his eyebrows raising as he noticed her smiling expression.  _She looks amused…that smile…_

"Sounds good to me," Tomoyo told him.  "We don't have much else to do it seems."

He looked at his watch.  It was already nearing one in the afternoon.  He looked back up at Tomoyo and smiled, his eyes starting to sparkle playfully.  "Well, let's go then, my lady," he said, bowing slightly to her then holding out one hand to her.  Tomoyo's smile grew as she laid her hand in his; she blushed as he gently brought it to his lips and kissed it.  _He's so cute…_

Eriol himself blushed as he held Tomoyo's hand up to his lips for a moment.  He looked at her face as he released her hand…saw her blushing too, and he blushed even more.  He turned quickly and began leading the way out of her room…Tomoyo followed him after she quickly picked up her purse.  He stood, leaning against the wall, watching her as she locked the door.  She turned and smiled at him as she finished.  He smiled back as they walked together down the hall, down the stairs, then out of the building and to the nearest bus stop.  He kept his eyes on her the entire time, only looking away the few times she turned to glance at him.  _She's so pretty…I feel so nervous…this is crazy…I haven't ever really felt like this before…_

They stood quietly as they waited for the bus, both slightly uncomfortable alone together for the first time in a long time.  Tomoyo looked up at him still looking at her…she blushed as he quickly turned his head away, realizing he had been staring at her.  _This will be an interesting day…_

***

**End of Chapter 6  **

***

Sorry if this chapter is slightly boring and kind of slow, but basically it's a big setup for chapter 7, which should be more interesting.  ^_^

Thank you for reading!


	7. A Date

**A New Semester of Love**

Thank you for your reviews!!  Here's chapter 7…it's kind of long.  ^_^;

Enjoy!

**Chapter 7: A Date**

The bus arrived in less than ten minutes and began taking the pair into the middle of the city.  They remained silently sitting by each other for a few minutes, both slightly nervous.  Eriol cleared his throat.  "So…where do you want to go?"

Tomoyo looked up at him, then back out of the window, hiding the blush that had once again crept up on her as she looked at the boy beside her.  "I don't know.  Where do you want to go?"

Eriol smiled.  "Are you hungry now?  We could find some place to eat if you are."

"I'm a little hungry," she replied.

"How about we go back to that one café we found that first time we went out shopping?" he suggested.  "I thought it was a pretty nice place."

She nodded in agreement.  "That sounds good.  I've been wanting to go back."  

"Good, good," he said.  "Then our stop is coming up soon."  

They fell silent again, both just staring out the windows as the bus slowly went along through the city.   In another few minutes, they finally reached their stop.  Eriol took a gentle hold of Tomoyo's hand as he led her out of the crowded bus and out onto the busy sidewalk.  

"Do you remember where it is exactly?" Tomoyo asked as she followed him as he began to walk.  He nodded.  They walked side by side silently a few blocks when they say the pretty café that they had visited a couple months earlier.  

Tomoyo, almost unconsciously, scanned the people sitting outside of it…dreading that she would see the two male college students that had harassed them before.  She sighed in relief when her search came up empty.  _Of course they aren't here again…don't know why I thought they might be… Her thoughts turned to Sakura, who was probably now on a the train back home with Syaoran.  _It was horrible when those guys were here before…I'm sure Sakura-chan was thinking about last semester then because of them…I think that's why we never even suggested coming back here…just in case it might make Sakura-chan remember again…that horrible guy last semester…I'll never be able to forgive him for hurting her like that…__

"Tomoyo-san?" 

Tomoyo looked up to see Eriol pulling a chair out for her.  She blushed as she realized she had just been standing there for some time…her thoughts making her forget about her surroundings.  She blushed as she thanked Eriol and sat down, watching as Eriol then pulled out a seat across from her and sat down as well.  

He looked at her once he had sat, his eyes worried.  Tomoyo smiled weakly and looked down at the menu in front of her, trying to avoid Eriol's gaze. 

Eriol just continued to look at her for a few moments.  _I wonder what she was thinking about…she was just standing there…staring off into space…but her eyes...they were getting watery it seemed…she looked so upset…_

He sighed and looked down at his own menu. 

"May I take your order?" 

Tomoyo and Eriol both looked up, their eyes widening slightly as they saw Touya standing there, waiting to take their order.

"You work here?" Tomoyo asked.

He looked at her kindly.  "I started working here about a month ago as a side job.  Yuki works here too…but he's inside taking orders."

Tomoyo smiled at him, not too surprised to see him.  Somehow, they always managed to find him working somewhere unexpected.

"Sakura isn't with you?" he asked looking at Tomoyo and then Eriol and then back at Tomoyo.  

"No," she began, hesitating.  _I guess he doesn't know about his father.  _"She went back home with Li-kun because your father is sick."

Touya's eyes widened when he had heard that Sakura had gone back home with Syaoran…but widened even further, his expression showing concern when Tomoyo mentioned his father.  "I didn't know…" he muttered.

Tomoyo smiled gently at him.  "When Sakura-chan called, he said that it wasn't serious…that it was nothing to worry about.  So I don't think you have to worry…and I'm sure Sakura-chan will take good care of him too."

He looked at Tomoyo and smiled at her attempts to ease his worry.  "Thank you for telling me," he said.  "Now…I guess I should take your order if you're ready."

Tomoyo and Eriol both ordered and watched as Sakura's older brother walked away and into the café.  "He's worried," Eriol mentioned.  

Tomoyo looked at him and nodded.  "Yes it seems so.  But I'm sure everything will be okay."

Eriol looked at her and smiled.  _She always tries to comfort people...always being hopeful…I wonder how she can always keep a smile on her face like that…_

"We should have invited Rika-san and Naoko-san to come with us today," Tomoyo said.

Eriol grinned at her a little.  "Yeah we should have, but then we wouldn't have been all alone together like I know you wanted," he teased playfully.

Tomoyo smiled widely back at him, her cheeks flushed.  "You wish."  Eriol laughed.  Tomoyo's smile grew even larger as he did. 

Touya returned their with their lunch, and the two talked quietly as they ate, Eriol about his past years in England, Tomoyo talking more detailed about their past semester and about her recent vacation in Hokkaido.   

"I'm glad you enjoyed your time with your mother," Eriol told her as she finished talking about her vacation.  "It sounds like you had a lot of fun."

"Yeah.  I don't usually get to spend so much time with her, so it was nice."

Eriol smiled at Tomoyo and then looked down at his watch.  It was already nearing 3.  "Wow,  we've been here quite a while.  I didn't notice how much time had passed already," he said.  "How about we leave and just walk around a little and then maybe find some place to watch the sunset?  We still have a while before then though."

"That sounds good to me," Tomoyo replied.  

Eriol caught Touya's attention with a small wave, and politely asked for the check.  Touya looked at each of them for a moment, then asked, "Separate checks or just one?"

"Just one," Eriol answered quickly before Tomoyo had a chance to respond. Touya just nodded his head slightly and left, promising to return in a few minutes. 

"You don't have to pay for me," Tomoyo said.

"It's okay though," Eriol responded.  "It's my pleasure to do so."

"But…" she began again.  

He just halted her with a gentle laugh and said, "How about you pay the tip then?"

She hesitated, then sighed, realizing she wouldn't be able to change his mind.  "Okay then."  

Touya returned for the last time with their check, which Eriol quickly paid while Tomoyo left a generous tip for Touya, and then they left the café.   They decided that they would just stroll around through the still very crowded city and hope to find some place where they could get some information for good places to view sunsets.  Eriol smiled every time Tomoyo exclaimed delight in something she saw, every time she smiled…and she smiled often.   Tomoyo cheerfully walked beside him on the sidewalks, pointing things out to him, talking about her own designs and how good Sakura looked in all her designs when they passed clothing stores.  For close to two hours they walked and browsed inside small stores happily, looking at many things and buying absolutely nothing.  

The two eventually ran across a small tourist stand, where they found some information regarding sunset and star viewing.  They discussed the possible places that were shown on the guides and decided on a place in a park just outside of the city.  After deciding, they made their way leisurely to a nearby train station, where they had to wait only about ten minutes for their train to come and take them on their way out of Tokyo.  They sat silently side by side looking out the window at the city passing by and then, soon, at the smaller suburbs and farmlands surrounding the major city.   

The train stopped a few times before finally reaching their stop.  They made their way out of the train and out of the small station and quickly consulted the map that came in the guide to direct them to the park where they were heading.  

It was only a few blocks away.  They stopped just inside the gates and looked at the very peaceful looking park around them.  There were still a couple kids in a sandbox near the gate.  A mother was sitting close by watching them as they tried to build little sandcastles that refused to stay standing upright.  A small play set with bars, slides, tubes, and a bridge was situated close to the sandbox, and a swing set completed that area of the park.  Trees surrounded the borders of the play area, and behind, they saw a slowly inclining hill that faced towards some farmland and the slowly sinking sun.  

"This is a very cute park," Tomoyo mentioned quietly looking around her some more as they walked in the direction of the hill.  It was now a little after 5:30, and the clouds were already beginning to take on new shades as the sun began to set.

They walked up the hill silently.  Eriol took off his thin jacket and laid it on the ground at the top of the hill and motioned for Tomoyo to sit on half of it while he sat beside her on the other half.  Tomoyo blushed as her arm brushed against his as they sat there.  

As the colors of the sky and the clouds kept changing with the fall of the sun, they talked quietly.  The children and their mother left soon after they arrived, leaving them to enjoy the sunset at the park alone. 

"It really is pretty here…the sunset," Tomoyo said.  

Eriol nodded his head.  "I definitely agree.  I'm glad we decided to come here.  I haven't seen a sunset this nice in a long time."

"Yeah me too."

They fell again into another silence, a comfortable silence, as the minutes passed and the sun dropped further and made contact with the horizon in the distance.  It was bright and beautiful, the sun's rays still reaching to the clouds and causing such artful combinations of purple and blue and red that awed both Eriol and Tomoyo.  

They remained sitting there for some time even after the sun disappeared from view, leaving only traces in the darkening sky of its having been there only a short time before.  A random sprinkling of stars soon sparkled above them, looking slightly faded in the still growing night; the moon also appeared, slowly gaining in brightness as the last bits of the day continued to disappear.

Finally, they decided to leave and walked back down the hill and out of the quiet park, making their way back to the small train station to catch a train back into Tokyo.  They rode quietly all the way back, content to be silent, only a few smiles passing between them.  Eriol glanced often at the girl beside him.  _This day has been so great with her…I never imagined that I could be this happy just being with her.  She was so pretty sitting there watching the sunset…so beautiful…_

The ride back seemed shorter than their ride out of the city; once they were back in the city they stopped for a quick meal at a cheap but nice restaurant, Eriol paying again despite Tomoyo's urges for him to let her pay this time.  She again paid only the tip.

They returned to the dorm after they ate, reaching it after 9, stars in the dark sky invisible from their location in the city.  Eriol walked Tomoyo back to her room and waited as she unlocked the door and opened it.   She turned back to him after she opened the door.  

"I had a really fun time today," she said, smiling.  He smiled a little back at her, his thoughts full.  _She looks so nice right now…_

Tomoyo blushed a little as he just stood there staring at her.  Her eyes widened a little as he took a step closer to her.  _I feel nervous with him looking at me like that…_

Eriol's breaths quickened as he took another step closer to her.  "I…" he began, hesitating.  _I can barely breathe…how can I tell her what I want to say?_

She just continued to look at him and unconsciously took a step back when he moved toward her.  Her back was now pressed against the wall beside her open room door.

"Tomoyo…I…" he stopped again.  Her eyes widened even more, showing a mixture of surprise and curiosity as he spoke her name for the first time, without the 'san' ending.  

They were now only inches apart.  Tomoyo could feel Eriol's breath on her cheek.  She just remained standing there motionless, unsure of what was happening.  _He's so close…_

Eriol looked into her eyes as he stood before her, then down to her lips.  He watched as they moved…slowly whispering his name, "Eriol-kun…what are you…"

But his own lips cut hers off before she could finish what she was trying to say.  Tomoyo stood there, too surprised to move or respond…too surprised to do anything, as she felt his lips upon hers.  After another moment, he broke the unexpected kiss, his face and hers both bright red. 

He looked at her, at her confused expression, and turned away.  "I…Tomoyo…"  He stopped as she looked down and then beside her at her open door.

"I should be going," she mumbled quietly, turning her back to him quickly and hurriedly entering her room and shutting the door behind her.  

He stood there silently for a few moments, then, after a quiet "I'm sorry" leaned against the wall and sighed.

***

**End of Chapter 7 **

***

Hmm…I had no clue when the sun usually sets in late November, so the time might not be so realistic.  Also, at the café, for the purposes of the story, I had it so they would get free refills and give tips.  I think this is uncommon in Japan, not totally sure, but I think it is.  

But anyway, I hope everyone liked this chapter.  Please review!  ^_^  Thanks!


	8. A Nervousness

**A New Semester of Love**

Thanks for the reviews!!! You people are so wonderful!  ^_^  Thank you for reading.  

Enjoy!

**Chapter 8: A Nervousness **

Tomoyo stood with her back against the door for some time, her mind rushing with thoughts about what had just happened.  She could still feel the warmth of his lips on hers…she slowly reached up with her right hand and touched her lips hesitatingly…remembering the feel of him.  _I can't believe that he...I didn't know he felt like that… _

She moved her hand away and sank down onto the floor.  She hadn't realized she was shaking till then…she felt completely weak.  _I'm so confused…_

***

Eriol stayed outside of Tomoyo's room for some time after the door had shut.  He couldn't hear any sounds from within.  He again sighed.   _I can't believe I did that…I shouldn't have done anything…I could have just told her how I felt if I really needed to do anything…I can't believe I ruined such a perfect day with something like that…_

He slowly began walking up to his own room, glad that Syaoran was off helping Sakura take care of her father.  He sank face down onto his bed, not moving.  He groaned, banging one tightly clenched fist against the wall.  _I'm such an idiot…_

***

Sunday evening, Sakura finally returned with good news about her father.  His fever hadn't been so severe, and she and Syaoran had left him feeling much better.  He would even be able to lecture the next day for his class.

Tomoyo just smiled at her as she came in, happy for her that her father was doing okay.  

Sakura quickly began to unpack her small bag that she had taken home with her, humming with her as she did.  She opened Kero's drawer and placed a cupcake she had brought from home in it.

Tomoyo looked down at the book she had open before her as Sakura finished unpacking her things.  Her thoughts of the previous night kept coming back to her, making it impossible for her to concentrate at all on anything else.  _Should I tell Sakura-chan what happened?  I wonder what she'd think…_

"Tomoyo-chan?"

She turned a page of the book absent mindedly, her thoughts still remaining on Eriol's kiss.  _I still can't really believe it happened…it seems kind of like some strange dream…but it definitely wasn't a nightmare…I didn't hate it…_

"Tomoyo-chan?"

Tomoyo finally looked up as Sakura waved her hand in front her face.  "Oh, I'm sorry.  Did you want something?"

Sakura stared at her for a moment, worry in her eyes.  "Are you okay?"

Tomoyo looked at her for a moment, then looked away.  "I'm fine."

Sakura just continued to look at her.  _There's definitely something wrong…_ She sighed.  "Um…do you know where Kero-chan is?"

"He went outside earlier.  I think he wanted to fly a bit."

"Ah, okay," Sakura said, still looking at Tomoyo worriedly.  _I wonder what happened…_

***

"So how is your father, Sakura-san?" Rika asked as she sat her tray down at the table the following evening.  "I heard that you went home because he was sick and that's why the lecture had been cancelled."

Sakura smiled up at her friend.  "He's doing good."

Rika smiled.  "That's good to hear."

"So what did you all do this weekend while we were gone?" Sakura asked, looking around at the others who were sitting around the table. 

"I read a lot for some of my classes.  I got a lot of work done that I needed to do," Naoko replied.  

"Same with me," Rika added.

Eriol and Tomoyo both sat there silently as Sakura's gaze turned to them.  Tomoyo's cheeks had begun to turn pink; she remained staring down at her food.  

Eriol also grew uncomfortable.  He kept his eyes purposefully away from the girl beside him and coughed.  "We went out a little Friday, but other than that I didn't do much."

Tomoyo just nodded in agreement. 

The rest of the group looked at each other, all confused as to Eriol and Tomoyo's behavior.  They were all quiet for a moment.

Naoko finally broke the uneasy silence.  "I got a letter today…from Chiharu-san and Yamazaki-kun."

The group's attention turned toward Naoko looked through her bag to find the letter.  Sakura's gaze lingered on Tomoyo for a tiny bit longer…she saw her glance slowly at Eriol, then quickly away, her eyes focusing now on Naoko.  _I really wondered what happened…she's been acting strange since I got back last night…and now Eriol too…I wonder if something happened between them…_

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted as Naoko began to read the letter to them.  It was a short letter, talking about the past few months the group had been separated, complaining that all of them at Tokyo had never come down to visit like they had last year, complaining also that the one trip they had planned to take back home had been cancelled, but a true wish for the health of Sakura's father was apparent in the letter. 

The letter went on to say how they were all just waiting for the end of the semester and for last assignments and finals to be over with, and it ended with a not so surprising P.S. by Yamazaki-kun, stating that, the origin of final exams was when it was made a long time in England as a way to get out of a major war.  Those who did well on the exam would be exempt from signing up to fight, and those who failed would get a special kind of cake that was meant to slightly ease the pain of failure but would be required then to sign up for the draft.  

Sakura and the others looked around at each other at this astonishing new fact.  Naoko continued reading, however, with a second P.S. from Chiharu telling them to not believe Yamazaki's lie.

"He was lying?" Sakura asked, her expression confused.  The others sweatdropped.

"Too bad we didn't get to see them this past weekend," Naoko said.

"We should plan something with them during the break," Rika suggested.  "It's not too long now till the semester is over."

"Yeah it'll be fun for all of us to be together again," Sakura said.  "They haven't even gotten to see you yet since you've been back, have they Eriol-kun?"

"That's right. I guess I got here too late," he replied.  "It will be nice to see them again."

The group chatted for some time longer about the past when they had all been together last for a significant amount of time, which had been about seven years before.   They had a lot to catch up on considering the time Eriol had visited the previous semester hadn't been enough time to really talk about much at all…and the way events turned out during his visit hadn't really put them in much a mood to reminisce.  But now they had plenty of time, and would have even more during the upcoming holidays when the group would be completely reunited.  

About an hour later, they finally decided to leave.  Rika and Naoko left them outside the dining center to return to their own room, leaving Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Eriol to walk back to their own dorm together, just like normal.  But this time there was a definitely noticeable silence between Eriol and Tomoyo.

When they reached the dorm, Eriol stopped as the rest began to walk into the building.  "I think I'm going to go off for a walk.  I'll see you all later."  And with that, he turned and walked off before any of them had a chance to even say anything at all.  

Eriol walked for some time, not really caring where we was going, his mind still concentrated on Tomoyo and the past Friday night.  _I know I ruined everything with her…I haven't even seen her before dinner today since Friday…and she would barely even look at me.  I bet she hates me now…I should never have done anything…why did I have to mess everything up like that?  We were doing good just as friends…and I know I wanted more than friendship with her…but now I really don't think I have a chance…not after I just kissed her like that…_

He looked up at the dark sky above him as he walked, his step slowing as he came to rest beside a tree, leaning against it, feeling weak.  The moon was shining down on him from above…only a tiny sliver of the moon was visible.  He sank down against the tree, sitting on a larger root that was protruding from the ground.  He brought a finger up and laid it against his own lips…remembering the feel of Tomoyo's lips a couple nights before…_I think I scared her…she didn't respond at all when I kissed her…_

His thoughts were interrupted as he suddenly heard voices coming closer from his left.  He stood up and hid behind the tree, not wanting to be seen.  He watched as a couple walked past him, laughing, holding hands.  He stayed there silently until they disappeared from sight…then sank down once more onto the  large root of the tree.  He sighed. _ I don't know what to do…_

***

"Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura began as the door closed behind them after they had gotten to the room.  Tomoyo looked up at her, noticed Sakura's worried expression, and looked away.  "What's wrong?"

Tomoyo remained silent for a moment as she sat down at her desk and opened her laptop.  She sat staring at it.  _I don't know what to tell her really…I don't really understand how I feel…_

"Tomoyo-chan?"

"Nothing's wrong," Tomoyo hesitantly answered, her voice quivering slightly as she spoke.  

Sakura just kept looking at her.  "Did something happen with Eriol-kun?  He seemed to be acting strange today too around you."

Tomoyo looked down as a bright red blush grew on her cheeks.  Sakura noticed.  "It is, isn't it?"  Tomoyo remained silent.  

Sakura sighed and sat on her bed, lazily picking up a book that she needed to read for a class and opening it.  "I'm sorry.  You don't have to tell me anything you aren't comfortable with."

Tomoyo looked over at her best friend as she began to read.  She smiled a little as a few minutes passed and Sakura failed to turn even one page of the book.  _She's definitely not reading…I know she's worried…I should tell her…but I really don't know what to say.  But it might be helpful if she knew…I don't know…_

The rest of the night passed quickly, silently.  The two girls just remained in their rooms; Sakura finally did start to read, and Tomoyo began writing a paper that was due later that week.  

Near midnight, they finally decided to go to bed.  Kero had gone to sleep about an hour before, and now the two girls were left awake in the dark, their thoughts making it difficult to sleep.  A bright orange moon shone in through the cracks in the blinds.  Tomoyo stared up at the ceiling in the dim moonlight.  She couldn't stop thinking about Eriol.

"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo called out quietly.

"Yeah?"

Tomoyo hesitated.  "Um…about Eriol-kun…he…" she stopped.  Sakura waited.  Tomoyo took a deep breath. "He kissed me."

Sakura sat up in her bed and looked over at Tomoyo.  "He kissed you?"

Tomoyo sighed.  "We went out Friday after you left…we went to eat lunch…and just shopped around a little.  And we decided to find a place to watch the sunset…and it was really pretty.  We were at a park outside of Tokyo on a hill facing right at the sun as it was setting…it was so pretty."  

"It sounds like it would be," Sakura said.

Tomoyo was quiet for a moment.  "We…um…we finally got back here around 9 or so…I told him that I had a lot of fun…he was just looking at me all weird…and he…well he ended up getting really close…and he kissed me."  She hesitated before continuing.  "I…was so surprised…I just stood there…and when he stopped I just said that I should go and left him.  I was just…really surprised…I didn't know he…I didn't think he would…" she stopped. 

Sakura sat there silently, her eyes widening as she listened to Tomoyo tell her what had happened.  "Oh wow…" she whispered.  "Do you…like him?" Sakura asked slowly.

"I don't know," she replied, sighing.  

"Syaoran-kun and I have thought he liked you…but it's still surprising that he would suddenly kiss you like that," Sakura told her. 

"I guess I should have believed you when you hinted before that he might like me," Tomoyo said..  

"We kind of thought that you liked him too," Sakura admitted.  

Tomoyo looked over at Sakura then looked back up at the ceiling.  "I think I'm going to try to sleep now," she mumbled.  "Goodnight Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled a little.  _She does like him.  _"Goodnight Tomoyo-chan."

Memories of her times with Eriol flashed through Tomoyo's mind as she lied there, fully awake.  She remembered that she had always been happy to see him, a real smile always lit her face every time she saw him.  She remembered the numerous times he had made her blush…_it had been easy for him…and I had always liked it when he teased me…when he was sweet to me… She looked again at the moonlight streaming in through the blinds.  __Maybe I do like him…_

***

**End of Chapter 8**

***

Sorry that it's been longer than normal since I've updated.  I just moved into my dorm, and I've been having a lot of internet problems.  Hopefully things will get better.  

Yue's Lady: the thing that happened to Sakura included her being tricked by some guy that only wanted one thing from Sakura.  You can read the story about it if you like called A Semester of Deceit and Love.  It's the prequel to this story.  


	9. An Accident

**A New Semester of Love**

**Chapter 9: An Accident **

The rest of the week passed quickly as everyone got busier and busier with the end of the semester.  Friday soon came upon them, and as classes finished for the day, the last weekend of the semester before finals arrived.  

Over the week, Tomoyo and Eriol had started to behave more normally around each other, although no one missed noticing the small blushes that still surfaced on their faces every time they looked at or spoke to one another.

Sakura sighed as she dumped her bag down on the floor beside her bed and then flopped onto the bed herself.  Tomoyo had been watching her amusedly as she had grumpily thrown open the door and walked in and now smiled at her as she fell onto her bed.  "You're finished with class now, right?"

Sakura looked over at her friend.  "Yeah…that was my last class."  She groaned.  "I swear…professors that give big tests on the last day of class and then still give us a final too need to be hit over the head with my star staff."

Tomoyo laughed.  "Poor Sakura-chan.  Did your test not go well?"

Sakura just groaned again, even louder.

Kero looked at his mistress as he hovered close beside her.  "You should have studied more.  You were watching tv all night last night."

Sakura glared at the little yellow guardian, took her pillow, and hit him with it.

"Hey!" Kero shouted.  "What'd you do that for?  I was just…" 

"Ooh, look at the time," Tomoyo suddenly interrupted, looking away from the amusing pair before her to look at the clock.  "It's five."

Sakura and Kero had stopped glaring at each other to look over at Tomoyo.  

"We're supposed to meet the guys down in the lobby at five, then meet Rika-san and Naoko-san at the student union after that," she explained.

"We are?" Sakura-asked. 

"Li-kun came down here about an hour ago and asked if we wanted to go with everyone for dinner and a movie tonight.  Do you want to go?" 

"Ah…sure sure.  Sounds like fun," Sakura said.  "And it'll be a nice reward for failing my test today."  Tomoyo laughed.  

"I want to change before I go though," Sakura continued.  "So can you go down there and get them to wait for me?  It should only be a few minutes."

Tomoyo nodded, grabbed her purse, and with a quick goodbye to Kero, left the room to go meet Syaoran and Eriol.  They were both down there when she arrived, and she told them that Sakura would be down in a couple minutes too.  Ten minutes passed.

"I wonder what's taking her so long?" Syaoran asked.  

"I don't know," Tomoyo replied.  "Maybe she's still fighting with Kero-chan.  She was before I left."

"If it's not serious, it's cute when they fight," Syaoran said quietly, smiling.  Eriol and Tomoyo smiled, glanced at each other, blushed, and looked back toward the staircase where they were expecting Sakura to emerge.  

Another five minutes passed.  Eriol called Rika and Naoko who were already at the student union and told them they were still waiting on Sakura.

"I'll go get her," Syaoran said finally starting to leave them, when suddenly someone came rushing out from the stairs toward them, looking very frantic.

"You're her friends, aren't you?" the student asked quickly.  "You've got to go help her.  Someone should call the ambulance."

"What are you talking about?" Eriol asked.

"She fell down the stairs.  She's unconscious…"

"Who?" Syaoran quickly interrupted.

"Kinomoto…I think her name is."

Their eyes widened.  The color in Syaoran's face faded.  He ran back to the stairs, followed quickly by Tomoyo and Eriol.  They came across a few people standing around Sakura laying still…very still…at the bottom of the first flight of stairs.  Syaoran hurriedly pushed his way through the few other people there and knelt down beside her.  

"Sakura!"

Upon seeing Sakura, Tomoyo had suddenly grown faint and fallen to her knees shaking, just staring at her.  Eriol quickly left Tomoyo in the care of his roommate that he happened to notice had joined the small crowd and called the ambulance, which, he found, was already on its way.  They had already received a couple calls from some others.

Syaoran just sat silently beside Sakura, relieved that he had been able to feel her pulse, but still extremely worried.  _Sakura…please be okay…_

In about another five minutes, they all finally began to hear the sirens of an ambulance approaching.  Eriol went out to meet it and came back with a couple paramedics who quickly looked over Sakura, fit a brace around her neck, gently laid her on a stretcher and wheeled her out to the waiting ambulance.  Syaoran forced his way into it with her, but only he was successful in doing so.  Eriol called a taxi as the ambulance pulled away and soon he and Tomoyo were also on their way to the hospital.  

Eriol looked over at the very pale girl who sat next to him.  She hadn't spoken a word since she had seen Sakura.  _I wish I could help her to feel better…but I'm worried too…I don't know how to help…_

Tomoyo just kept her eyes looking out the window, not really seeing the city passing by.  The vision of Sakura laying there refused to leave her mind.  _She has to be okay…_

They sat there quietly as they made their way, seemingly very slowly, to the hospital.  Tomoyo tensed as they finally reached it, hesitating as the taxi stopped in front of its doors.  Eriol quickly paid the driver and got out of the taxi, made his way over to Tomoyo's side, and opened the door for her.  He took her hand gently to help her out of the car.  His eyes widened worriedly as he noticed how cold her hands were, how they were shaking.  

She pulled her hand away and stood there a moment longer, looking up at the large hospital in front of her.  _I'm almost afraid to go in… _She shook her head slightly.  _She'll be okay._

She began walking, Eriol keeping his pace slowly beside her as they walked into the hospital and made their way to the waiting room a woman at the front desk directed them to.  They saw Syaoran sitting there alone as they entered the room, his head resting on his hands, looking down. He looked up as they approached, his face still noticeably white.

"Do you know how she is?" Eriol asked hesitantly.

Syaoran shook his head.  "They're looking at her now…they said they'd come out and tell me in a little while."

Eriol led a still pale Tomoyo to the seat beside Syaoran, then sat beside her.  She sat there staring straight ahead.  Eriol reached over and took her cold hand in his, squeezing it gently.  She looked at him for a moment, then looked away.  She left her hand in his.

They sat there for another hour, not moving.  They paid no attention to the others in the room, their thoughts resting only on Sakura.  Finally a doctor came through a side door in the waiting room.  "Is there a Li Syaoran here?"

Syaoran looked up as he was asked for.  "I'm here," he called out softly.  The doctor quickly made his way over to them.  

"You are waiting for information about Kinomoto-san, correct?" the doctor asked, addressing Syaoran.  He nodded his head.  The doctor glanced at Tomoyo and Eriol. "Is any of the family present?" 

"No…they don't know about it yet," Syaoran replied slowly.  

The doctor looked at him.  "Her family should be contacted immediately so we can take care of her as we need.  We also need insurance information that her family should be able to provide."

"Is she okay?" Syaoran asked.

The doctor nodded.  "Basically, one bone in her left arm is broken, her ankle appears to be sprained, and she has a very serious concussion, which is our main concern.  But we're quite sure she'll be just fine."

Syaoran let out a shaky breath, not realizing he had been holding his breath the whole time the doctor had been speaking. "Thank you…" he whispered.  The doctor smiled at him.

Tomoyo sunk her head down onto one hand, tears of relief spilling slowly out of her eyes.  Eriol breathed his own sigh of relief as he heard the news and as he watched the reactions of both his descendent and the girl beside him.  Still holding Tomoyo's left hand, he squeezed it gently again.  He smiled as he felt her tighten her grasp on his hand.  _It's all going to be okay._

***

**End of Chapter 9**

*******

Thank you for your reviews!  The next chapter should be up within a couple days I hope.  Thank you for reading!  


	10. A Realization

**New Semester of Love**

Enjoy!

**Chapter 10: A Realization **

Only two nights later, Sakura was released from the hospital.  With her arm in a cast, her ankle in a brace, and her head still often causing some serious pain, she was put into a wheel chair.  Her father and brother had both arrived in Tokyo that same Friday night and had stayed with her constantly, as did Syaoran, the entire weekend.  Upon her release, her professors and dean of her college were immediately contacted, and they soon had arranged for Sakura to rest at home for one week to return to take make up exams the following week.  Syaoran also put in a plea to his professors to take all his finals early, and in doing so, joined Sakura at home only two days later.  

Eriol and Tomoyo both decided to stay with their normal final schedules and soon, Thursday arrived.  Both had their last final that Thursday, Eriol's ending not too long after noon and Tomoyo's ending around three.  He was waiting for her outside her door when she returned to her room.  

Tomoyo smiled at him as she approached him.  Since Sakura had fallen, he had always been at her side.  They ate together and they had studied together; they had grown much more comfortable with each other.

"Are you completely packed?" Eriol asked as Tomoyo opened her door and led him into the room.  There was a large collection of bags and a few suitcases in the middle of the room, holding only the things she would need during the winter holidays.

"Yes, I think everything is ready," Tomoyo replied.  "Are you ready to go?"

Eriol nodded.  

"My mother has sent a car to pick us up.  It's already outside."

Eriol smiled.  "Let's go then." 

It took them less than thirty minutes to get their few belongs to the car.  They sat quietly in the back seat together as they left, both anxious to go back to Tomoeda to make sure things were okay with Sakura. 

As they neared Tomoeda, Tomoyo instructed the driver to take them to Sakura's house, taking their things to their respective houses.  She would call from there if she needed a ride home.  Not long after, they pulled up in front of Sakura's house.  Tomoyo and Eriol both quickly got out of the car and walked up to the door, rang the bell, and eagerly waited for the door to open.

Touya opened the door, Fujitaka not too far behind him.  Both looked as if they were about to leave.

"Hi.  Is Sakura-chan here?" Tomoyo asked.

Touya smiled kindly at his sister's best friend and nodded, opening the door wide to allow the two visitors to walk in.  They greeted Fujitaka as he happily welcomed them.  

"We were just about to go out," he told them.  "I'm glad you both have come to keep Sakura-san and Li-kun company."

 "Oh, Li-kun is here too?" Tomoyo asked.

Touya glared slightly in the direction of the living room.  "Yeah he's here.  He's always here."  The rest of them smiled at Touya's expression.

They waved as the two older men left and then made their way into the living room to find Sakura and Syaoran sitting together on the couch, their hands clasped between them.  

Sakura smiled up at them as they walked in.  "Hi!" she exclaimed, beginning to stand up.  Syaoran pulled her down, glancing at her injured foot.  Her ankle had almost completely healed.  She could walk now, although with a limp, but the wheelchair was no longer needed.  "My foot's fine," she muttered, but didn't resist his efforts to keep her sitting there.

Tomoyo leaned over and gave her best friend a tight hug, being careful of Sakura's broken arm.   "How are you?"

Sakura smiled at her as she hugged her back.  "I'm doing good.  How were finals?"

Tomoyo shrugged her shoulders.  "They were fine I suppose.  I was just wanting to come back here to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Sakura said, as both Tomoyo and Eriol looked worriedly at her.  

"Is she really okay?" Tomoyo asked, looking at Syaoran.  Sakura sighed.

"She's doing a lot better than before.  At least her ankle's getting better and she hasn't been having so many bad headaches," he replied.

"So, how have you been this past week, Eriol-kun?" Sakura asked.  The others looked at her as she obviously tried to change the subject.  

Eriol smiled.  "I've been doing okay."

"That's good to hear," Sakura said, smiling.  "Are any of you thirsty or anything?  I bet you are.  I'll go make us some tea."  Sakura quickly got up with Syaoran's help and started heading off to the kitchen, Syaoran following close behind her.  

Tomoyo turned and smiled at Eriol as the two left the room.  "It's wonderful to see Sakura-chan doing so well after that crazy fall."

Eriol smiled.  "I agree.  I was worried about her too."

The group chatted some more as Sakura and Syaoran returned about the past week, about their families, about everything.  A couple hours passed as they leisurely talked, the sun beginning to set before Sakura finally got up, realizing that dinner needed to be made.  

"All of you will stay for dinner, right?" Sakura asked, looking around at them.  

"Sounds good to me," Eriol responded, smiling at the card mistress.

Tomoyo nodded her head in agreement. "Let me help you cook."

Sakura motioned for her to stay where she was.  "It's okay.  I can do it on my own.  You must be tired from you finals."

Syaoran stood.  "I'll help you."

"No, no it's okay.  You've been helping all week."

"That's okay though," he said leading her out of the room.  

Sakura looked back before she exited the living room.   "You two can just talk or whatever…or you could put in that movie on the tv.  Syaoran-kun and I watched it yesterday.  It was good."

"Alright," Tomoyo said.

"Oh, and if you want more tea or anything, just come tell me."

Eriol and Tomoyo both smiled at her as she finally left the room, then turned to look at each other.  

"So, do you want to watch the movie?

Tomoyo sighed as Eriol got up to slide the movie into the dvd player and begin to play the movie.  _Sakura has really never needed me for anything…not even to help her cook…it's always Li-kun…always…_

Eriol glanced at Tomoyo's expression as he returned to sit beside her, quickly looking away to hide the worry he knew had jumped into his own expression.  _I bet that was a fake smile I just saw…I wonder why no one else seems to realize it when she's not as happy as she pretends to be..._

They sat quietly together, eyes glued to the TV, their minds totally not involved in the scenes playing before them.  Eriol hadn't even looked at the title of the movie before he had taken it out of its case and slipped in to watch.  He still didn't know.  Tomoyo hadn't noticed either.

Tomoyo's attention kept being pulled to the little sounds coming from the kitchen, of a knife hitting a keyboard, of something frying, of the rice cooker beeping. _I wish someone could really want me…really need me…_

Eriol's kept stealing glances at the downhearted Tomoyo, a small smile still plastered on her delicate face.  He sighed inwardly as he noticed her continuously looking toward the kitchen.  _It's almost as if she's just waiting for Sakura to call her in there to help…_

The movie kept playing, the sounds from the kitchen lessened a little, and Tomoyo began to realize the many looks that Eriol kept giving her.  _He always seems to be looking at me…he seems worried.  He always seems to be worried…but he always acts so cheerful.  I want to know how he's really feeling… _Tomoyo's eyes widened slightly as the last thought passed through her mind, her fingers reaching up to her lips, remembering. _He hasn't said anything about that night…I don't think I really minded it at all…I was just so surprised…and he's been so wonderful to me since then…he's always been so wonderful.  I wonder how he really feels about me…_

Her attention finally away from the sounds from the kitchen, she now gazed openly at Eriol, who immediately noticed her watching him and blushed, keeping his head straight forward looking toward the TV still playing the neglected movie.

Tomoyo kept watching his as his blush deepened under her gaze.  _He's always been there for me…ever since I've met him…if I've ever been left alone he's always been there.  When Sakura didn't need me, he was always there.  I can't believe I never realized how wonderful he's always been to me. I always only noticed how he acted toward Sakura and toward Li-kun…never toward me.  I've been so blind…_

"Eriol-kun…" Tomoyo started, her voice shaking just a little.  

He finally turned to meet her eyes in the dim room, the overhead lights off because the movie was still playing, very much unnoticed by them both.

"Umm…about that night…that night we watched the sunset," she stopped as she watched his eyes widen, surprised.

"I'm so sorry…" he began, but he stopped as she held up her hand.

"Just listen for now," she said quietly, finally looking away, down at her feet, nervously.  She took a deep breath, and began.

***

**End of Chapter 10**

***

And now for a special thank you to all who have reviewed! ^_^

Sakura Sage: Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews!!! And thank you so much for continuously encouraging me to write.  This story is for you.  And thanks for being there to find my typos too.  Hehe.  ^_^  You are definitely awesome.  

SakuraandLiforever: Your reviews are so sweet and totally cute!  Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review my story.  I'm glad you think it's kawaii.  =^-^=

Meilin Baby 13:  Thank you for reading this story and the prequel to it!  I'm glad you liked the previous one and that you're liking this one too.  And I'm glad you like how I (usually) update quite quickly.  I find that I lose interest in many stories that aren't updated so often…or I just forget to keep checking back, so I try not to do that with my stories.  

Sakura Potato:  I'm glad you stuck around to read this new story of mine.  I remember you from when you were reading A Semester of Deceit and Love.  Thanks for all your kind reviews!

Angelkiss1719:  Awww…your reviews are always so cute.  I really appreciate you taking the time to read.  Thanks! ^_^

xsexylilbabygrlx19: Thanks for reviewing.  I really hope you're enjoying the story and that you like this chapter too and the last one…which is coming next.  ^_^

Heart of Night:  Hehe…I'm glad you don't think it's boring no matter what I think about it.  Hehe.  Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you like the ending!

not applicable:  Thanks for the review.  Hehe…and I do agree that I make Tomoyo blush too much.  I have a habit of doing that, which isn't too good, but hopefully I can work on controlling that. Thanks.  ^_^

Yue's Lady:  Thanks for the review.  I really appreciate it.

Winkie:  I hope you're enjoying the story!  Thank you so much for the review.  And your screen name is cute by the way.  hehe

kawaii berry:  I really liked your very nice review.  Thank you!

AznDevilGurl:  Thank you for your review!  I really appreciate it, especially considering your review was one of the first.  ^_^ I hope you enjoy the story.


	11. A New Love

**A New Semester of Love**

Here's the last chapter!  I hope you like it.  Thank you everyone who reviewed!! Your reviews always made me smile and encouraged me to keep writing.  You people are wonderful.  ^_^

Enjoy!

**Chapter 11: A New Love**

"That night…I was so surprised…when you…" Tomoyo stopped, blushing.  She kept her gaze away from his face.  "…when you kissed me," she finished.  Eriol also blushed.  "I didn't know what to do…or what to think…I didn't know your feelings…"

"Yeah, I know…I shouldn't have…" Eriol started, but again, Tomoyo held up her hand to stop him.  

She took another deep breath.  "That night…I was so confused about you and how you felt…and about me…I had no idea how I felt…I didn't even know whether or not I liked it…although somehow I know that I didn't not like it.  I was just really confused."

"I'm sorry," Eriol mumbled, looking down.

Tomoyo sighed, realizing that she was making Eriol feel bad.  She continued.  "But…ever since then…I've been thinking more about what happened…and how I feel about what happened…"

She stopped to take a couple deep breaths.  "Ever since you first came to Japan…you've been so nice to everyone…so nice to me.  I think only Li-kun had problems with you because of the attention you showed Sakura-chan.  But when we found out about you being Clow Reed in the past…how you were making situations for Sakura so she could transform all the Clow Cards, I started to feel like that was the reason you were so kind to all of us…because of our connection with Sakura."

Eriol looked quickly up at her, his eyes widened in surprise.  "That's not…"

"I know," she interrupted.  "I know now that it wasn't true.  I've come to realize that this past semester.  You've been just the same to us as you were before you went back to England.  You've been so wonderful no matter how you've been feeling…you've been so sweet, you've been here for all of us…you were there the time last school year that guy tried to hurt Sakura…and here again this year when Sakura fell….you're always there when anybody needs you.  I couldn't do anything when she fell…but you stayed calm and made sure everything would be okay…"  She sighed quietly.

Eriol now had his gaze focused on her, his cheeks slightly pink from hearing her talk about him.  He looked down at her hands, clasped tightly together, nervous.

"You know…I thought before that I loved Sakura…in the kind of way Li-kun loves her.  But when Li-kun and Sakura-chan started moving closer and closer together…and then finally became a couple, I've been able to watch them, and I've realized I don't love her exactly like he does.  I know now that all I really wanted was for Sakura-chan to be able to depend on me…I always wanted to be able to help her…to be needed by her.  And I never could help her…she never really needed me.  She's so strong all on her own, and when she needed help Li-kun would always be there for her or her brother would be there…I've never really been necessary to her.  And…I want Sakura-chan to be happy…I want that with all my heart…but I've been jealous of Li-kun because he's the one that can really help her the most.  He's the one that helped her catch the Clow Cards and then transform them all into Sakura Cards.  He's the one that helped her feel better after what happened last year.  He's the one that she needs.  I never have been…even before he came.  It even happened that we became friends when she gave me an eraser when I had forgotten mine…she's been able to help me, but never the other way around."

"But you have helped her," Eriol quickly told her when she finally took a breath.  "You've been supporting her as a friend all this time.  You've been encouraging her, helping to make her smile when it's been difficult for her to.  You were someone she could talk to.  I think without you, she wouldn't have been able to so cheerfully do all the things she needed to, she might not have been able to go through with everything concerning the Clow Cards and probably many other things without you.  You have to realize that you were one of the reasons she even managed to pass Yue's test at the beginning…she didn't want to lose anything that she loved…and you were included in her memories.  I don't think she would have passed the test if it were not for you."

Tomoyo smiled at him, at his efforts to comfort her.  "I had a feeling you would say something like that…" she mumbled very softly.  His eyes widened a little.

"Since you've been here," she started slowly, "every time I've felt unneeded by her…whenever I've felt depressed…you've been there.  You always seemed to know somehow when I wasn't really happy…and even now…you tried to make me feel better about it all…"

She blushed a little.  "And…I've always been happy when you're here…I was so happy to hear that you were transferring here."  Eriol's blush also returned.  "But I never really even thought about trying to see how I felt about you in any other way than simply a friend, because I always had Sakura-chan first in my thoughts.  But…when you kissed me…I really had to stop and think about how you actually felt…which I still am not sure about…but I finally had to think about how I really felt about you."

Eriol had opened his mouth as if he were about to start talking, but then closed it again, deciding to wait and listen as Tomoyo continued to talk.

"And actually…Sakura-chan falling and the way you helped me…how you never left me then…kind of helped me in finding out how I felt…and with us being kind of alone this past week together at school, I had more time to think…"

Eriol looked straight into her eyes.  She looked right back into his.  She thought she could see a slight spark of hope in his beautiful eyes.  She took one last deep breath.  "I really like you, Eriol-kun.  I like you very much."

Eriol looked at her silently for a moment, staring into her eyes…trying to make himself believe her.  "Are you…do you...," he stuttered, his emotions making it difficult for him to really speak.  "Do you really mean that?" he finally managed to ask, his voice only slightly above a whisper.

She smiled a little shyly at him.  "I do."

He looked at the beautiful girl in front of him, a smile starting to grow wider and wider.  He gently took her hand and looked at it, his fingers happily feeling the contours of her hand.  He slowly brought her hand closer to him, pulling on her a little, pulling her closer to him.  She let her head rest on his chest, smiled bigger as she felt his arms encircle her, tighten around her.  

"You've made me incredibly happy, my wonderful Tomoyo."

She smiled even more as she heard his comment, wrapping her own arms around him.  "It seems like a long time that I've felt like this about you.  I've wanted to able to hold you like this for so long. I always worried about you and how you really felt about everything…about Sakura-san and about me…especially after I was so stupid to kiss you like I did when I shouldn't have.  And I'm really sorry about that…I never meant to confuse you," Eriol said. She felt one of his hands start to run through her hair softly.  "You know…I missed everyone here so much when I went back to England, but it was you I thought about the most…it was you that made me happiest to return here."

Tomoyo looked up at Eriol's face.  He was looking down at her, his eyes full of joy.  He kissed her forehead, her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, finally bringing his lips to meet her own for the second time, but this time more freely, more full of passion on both sides, all confusion gone from Tomoyo and a true happiness shared between them in their kiss.

They ended the kiss a few moments later but stayed very much wrapped in each other's arms.  "Thank you," Eriol whispered.

Tomoyo looked up at him again and kissed his cheek.  "And thank you, my dear Eriol."

He smiled at her as she snuggled closer against him there on the couch, he kissed her on the top of her head.  _I'm sure we'll both be happy from now on..._

***

Sakura and Syaoran finally looked away from the happy couple as they settled against each other smiling.  They had been watching the entire confession from around the corner of the living room entrance, having finished all the basic cooking for the dinner.  

They smiled at each other as they walked back to the kitchen.  "They look so wonderful together," Sakura commented, her smile wide and happy.  "I'm so happy for both of them."  
  


"They definitely do belong together I think," Syaoran added. "I guess we really weren't needed to push them together, huh?"

Sakura smiled even more.  "They did fine in finding out their feelings for each other all on their own, didn't they?"

Syaoran smiled as well.  "But you know," he began, reaching for her hand and bringing it up to his lips to kiss, "Daidouji-san is great and all, but I'm still the luckiest guy because I have you."

Sakura blushed.  "You are too sweet, my love.  I'm the lucky one."

"Oh?" he asked, and still having a hold of her hand, pulled her against him and kissed her long on the lips.  "I love you so much Sakura," he told her soflty.

She smiled up at him, kissed him again, this time a short kiss.  "And I love you too Syaoran…very very much."

He smiled back at her and together they walked back to the kitchen hand in hand, leaving Eriol and Tomoyo together snuggling in the living room, a true feeling of happiness filling the entire house.  

***

**Owari******

***

I hope you liked it!  Thank you again to everyone who read and especially to everyone who reviewed!!! ^_^  Hehe…and if you liked this, you might like my other stories, especially its prequel.  Thank you everyone!


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